RICHMOND -- Rookie Denny Hamlin will have a relief driver on standby tonight at Richmond International Raceway as he recovers from a cut left hand that required 19 stitches this week.

Hamlin, who is from Chesterfield, hurt himself horsing around with his team after Wednesday's test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

After a scoring monitor incorrectly showed that a competitor completed a lap in nine seconds, Hamlin said he didn't think anyone could run around one of the team's haulers in nine seconds. A crew member bet Hamlin $100 he could do it and did; they went double or nothing if Hamlin could run around the hauler in less than nine seconds.

As Hamlin circled the front of the hauler, he reached out with his left hand to fling him forward.

"When I did that, I felt a pinch in my hand and I kept on running," Hamlin said. "When I was running down the side of the trailer, I looked and part of my hand was hanging off. I kept on going.

"It was held on by a little piece of skin at the very end of my [left] pinky, but the entire side of my left hand was gone."

Mike Bliss will be available if Hamlin has to exit the car.

On top

Greg Biffle earned his second pole of the season, topping the field for tonight's Cup race with a lap of 127.395 mph. It's his first Richmond pole and third in his career.

"Lot of pressure on our team to perform right now," said Biffle, who is 23rd in the season standings. "We're all giving it 100 percent and it shows."

Mark Martin will start second at 127.029 mph. Martin's last pole came five years ago in this event. He'll be followed by Casey Mears (126.862 mph), Brian Vickers (126.648) and Jimmie Johnson (126.576).

Kasey Kahne starts sixth with Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completing the top 10.

Jeff Gordon will start 16th with defending series champ Tony Stewart 18th. Dale Jarrett, rumored to be heading to Toyota next season, starts 26th with Emporia native Elliott Sadler starting 37th.

Wait and see

Drivers say that they don't need the smaller, 14-gallon fuel cell for the races later this month at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

NASCAR mandated the smaller fuel cell instead of the regular 22-gallon cell because of concerns about tires on the new surface. A smaller fuel cell will lead to more pit stops and more chances to change tires.

This week's test showed the tires are durable enough that they should last what would be a regular fuel run with the larger fuel cell.

John Darby, Nextel Cup series director, said more information is needed before deciding to change back to the larger fuel cell.

"Until you go through that 600 miles, you don't know what's going to happen," Darby said.

Darby said that next year, the fuel cells will be 17 gallons.

Early testing

Bill Elliott used a Toyota engine during the two-day Cup test at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this week for Michael Waltrip Racing. The team is one of three Toyota teams next season.

Elliott is scheduled to drive five races to help the team prepare for next season. Since Toyota is not approved for this season, Elliott will drive a Chevrolet.

Crew chief change

Derrick Finley, who had been Waltrip's crew chief, has returned to his role as an engineer for Bill Davis Racing. Waltrip is using Larry Carter, Bobby Kennedy and Jason Overstreet to work on the car and call the race.

Waltrip entered this weekend 35th in the points and has not finished better than 18th in a race this season.

Pit stops

Earnhardt said his engine broke a rod last week at Talladega and that's why he failed to finish that race. ... Toyota officials plan to submit their 2007 Camry in late June for NASCAR approval. Teams must present new vehicles by July 1. ... Kahne received his medical clearance Wednesday and tested later that day at Lowe's Motor Speedway before competing Friday at Richmond. ... Tonight marks Richmond's 100th Cup race.